Drones deliver PPE to communities in Appalachian Kentucky
Drones deliver PPE to EKY communities
and last updated 2020-12-17 09:54:29-05
PERRY COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) â As the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out across the country, people are encouraged to continue following CDC guidelines and wearing Personal Protective Equipment. However, there are still parts of Kentucky where there s little access to these materials.
That s why the University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health, Kentucky Homeplace, and the USA Drone Port partnered to explore the use of drones to deliver PPE to people in Appalachian Kentucky. With funding from the UK Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences, or UK-CARES, they started a research project known as the Jericho Project.
SHARE
LEXINGTON, Ky. Organizations are working together to transport needed personal protective equipment (PPE) to those in Eastern Kentucky and rural areas who may be isolated by the pandemic.
What You Need To Know
USA Drone Port, UK, Kentucky Homeplace partner to explore using drones to deliver PPE
Focus is on delivering PPE, medical needs to rural Ky. households
Program delivered first drone package earlier this week
After a flood that happened in March earlier this year, Bart Massey, executive director of USA Drone Port, says they needed to help fix problems with isolation in rural Kentucky areas. Kentuckians were stuck in their homes with no power, food, or medical supplies, all at the start of the pandemic.